LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After rolling out a pre-release version of its revolutionary judicial analytics platform earlier this year, Gavelytics today launched its coverage of Los Angeles County Superior Court, the largest and most active state, civil trial court system in the U.S.
Imagine if litigators could effectively anticipate how a judge will rule on a pivotal motion. Or make a data-supported decision regarding whether to disqualify a judge at the outset of litigation. With the newly-launched judicial analytics platform from Gavelytics, litigators can accomplish this, and much more.
Gavelytics is a Los Angeles-based legal technology startup that uses artificial intelligence technology to help litigators quickly identify their judge’s tendencies and determine if he or she will be favorable to their client. The technology highlights the vast differences between judges by tracking how each judge tends to rule on over 100 types of motions, how quickly they move through their cases and how frequently lawyers file peremptory challenges against them.
“Gavelytics was founded by litigators, for litigators,” said Gavelytics Founder and CEO Rick Merrill, a former Big Law litigator. “Our technology helps litigators stay ahead of opposing counsel by removing much of the guesswork from a case. In many other industries, artificial-intelligence-powered data technology has enabled dramatic breakthroughs and it’s time that litigators have access to similar game-changing insights.”
Finding even basic – let alone actionable – information about California Superior Court judges has always been a challenge, largely because of the amount of data involved; in L.A. County alone there are nearly 600 Superior Court judges, each of whom handle over 3,200 cases per year. Because it has historically been impossible to quantify the judicial tendencies hidden in this sea of data, attorneys have been forced to litigate as if all judges behaved the same way and to rely on office-wide emails, rumors and anecdotes for clues about judicial behavior.
Gavelytics’ AI-powered litigation data analysis algorithm parses tens of millions of state trial court data points so litigators can customize their litigation strategy to the judge, better manage client expectations, write better briefs, win more cases and prepare vastly improved pitches for business. Gavelytics’ proprietary Motion Analyzer details each judge’s propensity to rule for plaintiffs or defendants, historical probability of granting key motions like summary judgment, demurrers, and motions to compel discovery (all compared to the jurisdictional average), and much more.
As an example of the type of actionable, comparative insights Gavelytics offers L.A. litigators, Merrill highlights the fact that several L.A. judges grant defense-filed summary judgment motions in civil cases at less than half the rate of the county average. Similarly, with respect to peremptory challenge filings (under CCP § 170.6), Merrill notes that one L.A. judge receives over six times the average number of challenges, mostly from plaintiff’s side, employment attorneys. These are the types of significant disparities that aid litigators in developing litigation strategy and conducting motion practice.
“We are backed by some of California’s most sophisticated and experienced litigators from top law firms and are the first judicial analytics company to focus solely on the enormous California Superior Court system,” added Merrill. “L.A. litigators now have a new tool for their toolbox, and our plan is to eventually expand throughout California, and beyond.”
About Gavelytics
Gavelytics provides actionable insights that help litigators win more motions, win more cases and win more business. With Gavelytics, learn: whether a judge is good or bad for your client; the rate at which other lawyers file peremptory challenges against a judge; how a judge tends to rule on over 100 types of motions; if a judge is more likely to favor specific types of litigants; and how a judge’s workload might impact the speed at which litigation proceeds. All judges have certain tendencies. Gavelytics identifies them. For more information, please visit gavelytics.com.